


Day 2: Science

by vampirepunks



Series: Blood & Water: Moments from N7 Month [2]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst, Character Study, Earthborn (Mass Effect), Ficlet, Gen, Past Violence, Pre-Canon, Protective Siblings, Shepard Twins (Mass Effect), Slice of Life, Tenth Street Reds, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:07:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27379933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirepunks/pseuds/vampirepunks
Summary: Jane Shepard ponders the life she and her twin brother John have in the Reds. The art at the end is by the lovelyVelasa🥰
Series: Blood & Water: Moments from N7 Month [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2000095
Kudos: 6





	Day 2: Science

**Author's Note:**

> Potential trigger warning for implied past rape/non-con of a minor (John)

Jane hangs her red jacket on the door, worn leather hanging limp on the knob. She makes a pot of coffee, hoping today isn’t the day the shitty motel machine decides to kick the bucket. It isn’t, and the little maker sets right to work heating the water, steam rising from the sides as it does. John comes out of the bathroom with his auburn hair hanging wet in his face. The shower produces little more than a dribble, and often the hot water of the overpopulated building runs out. It's better than nothing. 

It was a tough race in the dead of night, and the Reds had gotten out as the cops showed up. Some weren’t so lucky. John’s only sixteen, but the weight of it all is starting to wear on him, street life building him into lithe muscle and quiet wisdom. He’s starting to seem so much older, and for what it’s worth, she feels older too. That’s the cost of their forfeited childhood, what little they did have, and it’s wearing John down. Wordless, he grabs a bag of frozen peas from the mini-fridge and holds it over his black eye. His opponent was a sore loser. The guy landed a sucker punch right to his face, then hauled off to shoot two holes through the hood of his salvage skycar. It still drove--barely--but John rambled for near twenty minutes about the cost of replacement parts and the time it would take to fix it. He'd grumbled that if the damage was too bad, he’d have to scrap it altogether and steal a new one to build upon. Street racing is the least violent of their profitable endeavors, but there are times they have to flee the scene or a fight breaks out. It’s the ninth race in a row John has won. His second win ended much worse. She'd gotten separated from him in the heat of it all, and she wasn't able to protect him. Car damage and a black eye is nothing compared to what that monster did, robbing him of his dignity and leaving him with a lifetime of psychological damage. It was the first time John admitted to killing in cold blood, and the day he’d discovered his biotics. The bastard deserved what John gave him. 

She waits for the coffee to brew, watching John sit on the single bed and open one of his second-hand college textbooks, still holding the bag of peas to his bad eye, concealing the mess of split skin on his cheek and swollen purple bruising. Her brother has always been smart, always had an aptitude for mathematics and sciences. His knee obscures the title, but she can tell by the blue cover that it’s _Element Zero: Discovery and Practical Applications._ Even second-hand, the cost of his books is exorbitant, but she could never bring herself to deny him his passion for science and tech. He’s picked up useful skills from applying what he reads, so it benefits the two of them, and by extension, the Reds. When they were still in foster care, the strain of changing schools so often meant Jane struggled to learn and came home with C’s and D’s on her report cards. Not that the majority of their foster parents really cared until the schools would threaten to suspend or expel her. John on the other hand... It never affected him. He moved into advanced classes three times, always came home with shining grades, and made more than a few enemies by showing other kids up with his intelligence. He’s smart, smarter than she’ll ever be, and knows how to apply it to skycar mechanics, fixing guns, trading salvage, and endless tinkering with any tech he can get his hands on. She doesn't have his mind, so she sticks to dirtier means of getting ahead. She has her underground ring fights, sneaking into clubs to pickpocket the other patrons, and running drugs with Aiden and Paloma. She’s good at everything the Reds ask her to do, whether it’s pulling robberies or enforcing their protection fees. John never liked it, never will, and why should he? In another life, he could be someone. He could work in R&D like their mother, become an engineer, open a mechanic shop, go into colony development... If only fate had given him a chance. 

She pours two cups of coffee and sets one down on the nightstand for him, sitting down at the foot of the bed. 

  
“Aiden is coming over later,” she says. 

  
“Okay,” he says, putting the bag of peas down in favor of the coffee mug, not taking his eyes away from the book. 

  
“So, I’ve got some time. Tell me what this chapter is about, nerd,” she says, smiling softly. 

  
He looks up at her, blue eyes bright, and nods, starting to explain how biotic implants work. 

One day, she promises herself. One day she’ll get them ahead, and they’ll be able to get implants too. The idea of being registered as a biotic doesn’t appeal, but the power they have isn’t something to be thrown away. Not when John spends hours meditating and practicing, trying to develop his abilities in their raw form; not when he has talent. For now, she listens to him talk. It’s all technobabble that goes over her head, but the way he gestures with his coffee cup and smiles as he talks is worth the boredom. It’s a small way of protecting him, encouraging his mind to wander to a brighter future and forget the troubles they’ve been through. 


End file.
